The present invention relates generally to a sensor arrangement for determination of a position and/or an acceleration of a moveable body.
Sensor arrangements of the above mentioned general type are known in the art. Usually they are utilized for example in vehicles as moveable bodies to determine for example accident-related position changes or other situations which influence a position stability. They either produce a warning signal or provide control signals for safety devices. In this way a rollover process is recognized and its action is reduced.
One of such sensor arrangements is disclosed in the German patent document DE-OS 41 01 060. In this sensor arrangement a structural element which uses a so-called Hall effect is arranged in a housing of the sensor arrangement in an operative connection with a magnet element in an inertia body. A tilting movement of the inertia body leads to relative movement between the magnet element and the Hall element, and thereby corresponding output signal is produced. The evaluation of vertical movements here is not provided.
Furthermore, mercury switches are utilized and acceleration-sensitive sensors in vehicles. In such sensors the position changes of the liquid mercury releases an electrical switching process and thereby a safety device can be activated. Such sensors are disclosed for example in 1141, Ingenieurs de l'Automobile (1982) No. 6, S. 76. They however have the disadvantage that the utilization of mercury is possible only conditionally in accident-prone vehicles in view of environmental protection, and its operational region is limited to temperatures under -35.degree. C. In motor vehicles and devices the lower operational temperature is specified as -40.degree. C.
The European patent document EP 01 79 120 B1 discloses also a sensor arrangement which has a light beam generator and light beam detector fixedly arranged in the housing. The inertia body during a position change can interrupt the light beam and thereby produce a control signal.